Winding drum



sept. 6, 196s R. H. SMITH l3,270,976

WINDING DRUM Filed De'c. l, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. H. SMITH WINDING DRUM Sept. 6, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. l, 1964 United States Patent O 3,270,976 WINDING DRUM Rolland H. Smith, Broomall, Pa., assignor to FMC Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 415,139 Claims. (Cl. 242-78.1)

This invention relates to a drum for winding a large coil of strip or ribbon-like material and more particularly to such a -drum arranged to permit automatic attachment of the end of the strip thereto at the start of the winding operation and easy removal of the coil when the winding operation is completed.

Steel strapping and the more recently developed plastic strapping materials are commonly packaged or supplied in the form of coreless coils known as mill wound coils. In a mill Wound coil, one convolution of the strap does not exactly overlap the preceding one and the whole coil has a thickness or axial width of several times the strap width. Coils of this type accommodate a considerable length of strapping but nevertheless the coiling or winding operation is intermittent, whereas the actual manufacture of the strapping is a continuous operation. Actually the strapping material is being wound fairly continuously but when a coil is completed the continuous strip of strapping it cut and the th'en leading end is transferred to another winding station or drum. Since the strapping is being continuously manufactured, it is of course necessary to start the winding or coiling operation quickly and to this end provision must be made for enabling quick attachment of the leading end of the strap to the winding drum. While the winding operation is proceeding on one drum, the previously wound coil is removed from the other drum and to permit this the drums should be capable of being collapsed or reduc'ed in diameter.

In View of the above, it is an object of this invention to provide a winding drum having means for automatically gripping the leading end of la continuously moving strip as the drum starts to rotate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a winding drum having means which automatically grips the end of a strip as the drum starts to rotate and which automatically releases the strip when the drum is stopped.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved collapsible winding drum having means for gripping the leading end of the material being wound thereon.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of -the invention will become apparent as the description of a preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

Referring now to the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a winding station wherein the drum of the present invention is in use;

FIG. 2 is a view of the drum partially in elevation and partially in section, the section being taken along the line II-II of FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one 0f the vanes or gripping elements of the drum;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a segment of the drum; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a segment of the drum showing the side opposite to that shown in FIG. 4.

Referring first to FIG. l, the winding station comprises a table supported on legs 11 and 12. Bearing support members 13 and 14 extend from beneath the table for supporting suitable bearings in which a shaft 15 is rotatably mounted. The winding drum, indicated generally at 16, is secured to shaft 15 and also secured to said shaft is a pulley 17 by means of which said shaft is rotated through a drive belt 18 from a motor and brake unit 19. The continuously manufactured strap- ICC ping material or other `strip 20 is pushed along the top of table 10 until its movement is interrupted by a swingably mounted door 21 which directs the end of the strip downwardly into a pivotally mounted vguide 22 the lower end of which extends between flanges of drum 16 to guide the strip onto the winding surface of the drum. As the strap builds up on the drum, guide 22, following the increasing radius 0f the coil, pivots counterclockwise and when the desired quantity of strapping has been built up on the drum the guide 22 operates a switch not shown which stops .the motor of unit 19 and applies the brake of said unit to stop the rotation of the drum. Motor and brake unit 19 may be controlled by means other than guide 22, or even manually, if desired. When the drum stops, means not shown cuts the strap 20 and closes door 21 so that the newly cut end of the strap is free to pass over closed door 21 and move on to another winding station, not shown. The arrangement thus far described is fairly conventional.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-5, the winding drum comprises an axial hub 23 provided with a keyway 24 by means of which the hub may be non-rotatably associated with drive shaft 15. A rim member 25 is secured to one end of hub 23 and a rim member 26 is secured to the other end of said hub. Mounted on a bearing 27 for limited oscillation about the circular periphery of -rim 25 is an annular ring 28 and an annular ring 29 is similarly mounted on a bearing V27' for limited oscillation about the -circular periphery of rim 26. Secured to lring 29 is an annular flange 30 and resting rupon the periphery of ring 28 is an annular flange 31. Flanges 30 and 31 define the side edges `of the winding surface of the drum and guide member 22 extends into the area between these anges.

The winding surface of the drum comprises a plurality of circumferentially spaced rods 32 which are supported between ring members 28 and 29 by means of pintles 33 and 34 which extend eccentrically from the ends -of said rods. Outwardly of ring member 28 pintles 32 have secured thereto square operating elements 35 to each of which are secured locking members 36 which, when rods 32 are in the rotated positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 serve to hold flange 31 in place. Pintles 34 have pinions 37 secured thereto outwardly of ring 29 and said pinions are meshed with a ring gear 38 held flush against the outer face zof ring 29 by flanged screws 39 which extend through arcuate slots 40 of the ring gear and screw into ring 29. Sl-ots 40 permit limited rotation of the ring gear With respect to ring 29.

Before the winding operation is begun, the operator, by means of a suitable tool, turns one or more of the square operating members 35 so that the rods 32 form a winding surface of maxi-mum circumference and with said rods in this rotated position locking members 36 prevent ilanges 31 from slipping off of the surface of ring 28, this condition being `shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. Due to the pinions 37 and ring gear 38, rotation of one of the rods 32 is effective to rotate all of them. When the winding operation is completed, a conveniently located one of the square operating members 35 is rotated so that the eccentric pintles 33 and 34 rotate rods 32 t0 reduce the circumference of the winding surface of the drum and this movement also moves locking members 36 to positions out of alignment with the flange 31. Flange 31 is then removed and the completed coil is readily slipped off of the drum.

The strap gripping means comprises a multiplicity of vane-like members 41 each of which has a pair of stub shafts 42 and 43 extending from opposite edges thereof substantially in alignment with a balancing axis of the member. The number of members 41 is the same as the number of winding surface forming rods 32. Members 41 are pivotally mounted between the rings 2S and 29, stub shafts 42 extending through bearing openings in ring 28 and shafts 43 extending through bearing openings in ring 29. Members 41 are also provided with a pair of stub shafts 44 and 45 and these extend respectively into arcuate slots 46 and 47 provided respectively in rim members 25 and 26. As previously mentioned, rings 28 and 29 are capable of oscillating with respect to rim memb'ers 25 and 26 and it will be observed in FIG. 4 that clockwise rotation of ring 28 with respect to rim 25 will -result in stub shafts 44 moving from the outer ends of slots 46 as shown to the inner ends of said slots. This movement causes each member 41 to rock clockwise about the axis of stub shafts 42 and 43 so as to open a space between members 41. When members 41 are in the positions shown in FIG. 4, an edge 48 of each member bears against the surface of the preceding member along a line substantially aligned with the stub shafts 42 and 43.

At the beginning of the winding operation, stub shafts 44 and 45 are in the radially inward ends of slots 46 and 47 so that there is an open space between adjacent members 41. The end of the strap 20 is directed by guide 22 toward the Winding surface formed by rods 32 and the strap end passes between whichever pair of rods happens to be aligned with the end of the guide and also between the aligned pair of gripping members 41. The curved upper surface of a member 41 assures that the strap 'end is properly directed. As the strap end reaches the area radially inwardly of members 41, the motor of unit 19 is started. This can be accomplished if desired by a timing mechanism associated with the opening of door 21. As the inner portion of the drum, that is hub 23 and rims 25 and 26, starts to turn, inertia causes the other parts of the drum to lag behind and the Ishafts 44 and 45 therefore .move into the radially outward ends of the slots 46 and 47 thereby rocking members 41 whereby the strap is gripped between said members, thus permitting the strap to start to wind upon the rods 32. During the winding of the coil, either the drum or guide 22 is traversed back and forth so that the desired width of the coil is built up. When the coil reaches the desired size, until 19 is operated to stop the motor and apply the brake, whereupon the inertia of the outer portions of the drum with the coil located thereon causes it to overrun the inner parts of the drum. This causes the shafts 44 and 45 to move into the radially inward ends of slots 46 and 47 thereby rocking members 41 so as to release the end of the strap. Thus it will be seen that the drum has means which operates automatically to grip the end of the strap at the start of the winding operation and to release the strip at the end of the operation whereby the coil may be readily removed from the drum.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A winding drum comprising a hub, a pair of axially spaced rim members secured to said hub, said rim members having circular periph'eries, an annular ring mounted on the periphery of each of said rim members for limited oscillation with respect thereto, a plurality of circumferentially spaced rods mounted in said rings, said rods extending parallel to said hub and defining a winding surface for the drum, a multiplicity of strip end gripping members rockably mounted between said rings for movement between strip end gripping positions and non-gripping positions, interengaging means on said gripping members and said rim members, said interengaging means rocking said gripping members into gripping p0- sitions when said rim members are rotated in the winding direction ahead of said annular rings, and said interengaging means rocking said gripping members into nongripping positions when said annular rings are rotated in the winding direction ahead of said rim members.

2. The drum set forth in claim 1 wherein the number of gripping members is the same as the number of rods and each gripping member has an edge engaged with an adjacent gripping member when said gripping members are rocked into gripping position.

3. The drum set forth in claim 1 comprising eccentric mountings for said rods, and means for rotating said mountings so as to turn said rods between a rotated position wherein said rods .form a winding surtiace of given diameter and a rotated position wherein said rods form a winding of a lesser diameter.

4. The drum set :forth in claim 3 comprising means rotatably interconnecting said rods, whereby the turning of one rod is eective to turn all of said rods.

5. Winding ,apparatus comprising an inner hub and rim section and an -outer section mounted on the inner section for limited oscillation with respect thereto, said outer section comprising means forming a surface adapted to have strip material wound thereupon, means for rotating the inner section and for stopping the inner section, said outer section lagging behind the inner section at the start of rotation and overrunning the inner section when the winding is stopped, and strip end gripping means articulated to both said inner and outer sections, said gripping means being moved into strip end gripping position when said outer section lags behind said inner section and into non-gripping position when said outer section overruns said inner section.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 518,048 4/1894 Wright 242-1101 X 2,586,527 2/1952 Ferm 242-78.l 2,733,023 1/1956 Lewis et al 242-781 FRANK I. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Examiner.

N. L. MINTZ, Assistant Examiner. 

5. WINDING APPARATUS COMPRISING AN INNER HUB AND RIM SECTION AND AN OUTER SECTION MOUNTED ON THE INNER SECTION FOR LIMITED OSCILLATION WITH RESPECT THERETO, SAID OUTER SECTION COMPRISING MEANS FORMING A SURFACE ADAPTED TO HAVE STRIP MATERIAL WOUND THEREUPON, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE INNER SECTION AND FOR STOPPING THE INNER SECTION, SAID OUTER SECTION LAGGING BEHIND THE INNER SECTION AT THE START OF ROTATION AND OVERRUNNING THE INNER SECTION WHEN THE WINDING IS STOPPED, AND STRIP END GRIPPING MEANS ARTICULATED TO BOTH SAID INNER AND OUTER SECTIONS, SAID GRIPPING MEANS BEING MOVED INTO STRIP END GRIPPING POSITION WHEN 